Pennsylvania scouts prepared, then arrived with help for Staten Island Sandy victims

"It's just an amazing feeling when you hear about people that have no idea what we went through and no idea who we are, really, other than that we're Scouts, to put in the effort that they put in to get this stuff to us," says Lowell Mauer, the cubmaster of Cub Scout Pack 6, of the Scouts from Pittsburgh, Pa., who visited with donations for Hurricane Sandy victims. Photo Courtesy of Pack/Troop 6

STATEN
ISLAND, N.Y. -- There's a couple hundred miles between
Eltingville and Munhall, Pa., a suburb of Pittsburgh, but that didn't
deter Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts from the Pennsylvania town from driving
to Eltingville Lutheran School and Church to deliver a tractor-trailer
load of items for victims of Hurricane Sandy.

The Scouts from
Cub Pack 4 and Boy Scout Troop 4 arrived in town Dec. 8, to team with
members of Cub Scout Pack 6 and Boy Scout Troop 6, out of Eltingville
Lutheran. Together they donated the supplies to the Stephen Siller
Foundation.

Dubbed "Operation Pack-to-Pack," the Pennsylvania
Scouts collected and donated more than $3,000 worth of supplies that
filled a large U-Hall trailer. The Scouts and adult leaders drove for
several hours on that Saturday morning to hand-deliver the goods.

"It's
just an amazing feeling when you hear about people that have no idea
what we went through and no idea who we are, really, other than that
we're Scouts, to put in the effort that they put in to get this stuff to
us," said Lowell Mauer, the cubmaster of Cub Scout Pack 6.

"These
boys were able to come to their leaders and say, 'We want to do
something special,' and were able to pull this thing off," said Matt
Gaor, the assistant cubmaster of Cub Scout Pack 6.

After they
delivered the supplies to the Siller Foundation, both Scout groups took
the Staten Island Ferry into Manhattan, where they performed a solemn
flag ceremony at Ground Zero.

Back in Eltingville by dusk, they
set out singing holiday carols in front of homes surrounding the school
and church on Genesee Avenue.

The long day wound down with an
overnight camp-out inside Eltingville Lutheran School, followed by a
pancake breakfast on Sunday, before the Pennsylvania Scouts departed for
home.

Cub Scout Pack 6 meets every Friday evening at 7:30,
while Boy Scout Troop 6 meets every Wednesday evening at 7, both in
Eltingville Lutheran School. For more information call 877-907-2256, or
log on to www.pack6si.com or www.troop6si.com.